Yang Hyun-suk, the founder of YG Entertainment, has been sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year probation period. This verdict comes after a prolonged legal battle involving charges of coercion and threats related to a drug case involving former iKON member B.I, aka Kim Han Bin.
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What happened to Yang Hyun-suk?
In the initial trial, Yang Hyun-suk was acquitted of charges related to threatening an informant in an attempt to cover up drug charges against B.I. However, in a subsequent trial, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 6-3 found him guilty. The prosecution had previously sought a three-year prison sentence for him on similar charges.
Yang was indicted on charges including coercion of interviews under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes. He was put on trial following accusations of cajoling and threatening Han Seo Hee, a former YG trainee, to defuse the investigation surrounding B.I‘s drug charges after a police arrest in August 2016.
Additionally, a former managing associate with YG received a four-month imprisonment sentence along with one year of probation. The courts stated that the prosecution appealed, purporting the victim’s statement was credible. However, amendments to the indictment involved a forced interview with Yang Hyun-suk, hampering the defendant’s right to defense.
The court ruled that this forced meeting may have potentially triggered psychological distress and put undue pressure on the victim. They also said that as the representative of YG, Yang misused his position and exercised dominance over B.I, reprimanding him. That’s why they found him guilty.
The prosecution previously stated that Yang Hyun-suk intervened in former iKON member B.I‘s drug informant case to neutralize the report. He also exercised abuse of power to cover up the scandal to not put the artist’s popularity and profits at risk since it helped Yang Hyun-suk gain a substantial part of his personal wealth.
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A series of scandals
Yang resigned from YG in 2019 when the agency was mired in a series of scandals. These stretched from drugs to prostitution and an allegedly corrupt relationship with the police. The problems began with the band BIGBANG and its maknae Seungri, but also affected other YG artists.
Following the exposure of the Burning Sun prostitution, rape, and spy cam scandal, Seungri was tried by a military court. He denied most of the charges but was soon found guilty of securing prostitutes for investors. He was also found guilty of misappropriation of more than $300,000 of funds from a nightclub. Later, his jail term was reduced from three years to 18 months after changing to a guilty plea on all nine counts.
YG Entertainment, founded in 1996 by then-dancer and producer Yang, has grown into one of the top three K-pop agencies alongside JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment. It has produced top K-pop acts including 2NE1, BIGBANG, and BLACKPINK. – K-Pop News Writer
Featured Image: He was acquitted at first but found guilty in a second trial. Source: X/@PopBase.